1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an interactive remote control toy, and, more particularly, to such an remote control toy that interacts with its environment by responding to external signals provided by a plurality of transmitters situated in various locations in the doll""s environment. Each of the transmitters broadcasts a distinct signal which correlates to one or more programmed responses in the remote control toy. The strength of said signal is limited so as to prevent overlap of the signals from two or more transmitters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art fails to specifically address either the problem or the solution arrived upon by applicant. Remote control technology is well known and has been universally used for many years in the toy industry. Talking and moving dolls have been in existence for decades, as have dolls programmed to respond to external stimuli. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,729 which issued to C. Refabert on Jun. 17, 1964 for a Doll Having Photocell-Activated Sounding Means discloses a toy doll having a photo-conductive cell connected with a means for producing an audio signal when activated by irradiation of the cell with either visible or infra-red light. The incorporation of two optical sensors in a remote control toy to detect the intensity of light in first and second optical fields for the generation of audio signals in response to the differential in the intensity of light is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,919 which issued to W. Price on Apr. 21, 1987 for Optical Sensing Circuit for Audio Activation of Toys. An example of a toy having a receiver adapted to reproduce sound from a transmitter is illustrated in UK Patent No. GB 2 201 068 A which was published on Aug. 17, 1988 for Sound Reproducing Plaything and System. A remote control doll that is able to xe2x80x9creadxe2x80x9d specially encoded objects and to vocalize the sounds associated with each code is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,336, which issued to M. Diamond et al. on May 24, 1994 for Toy and Method Providing Audio Output Representative of Message Optically Sensed by the Toy.
There has been a recent trend in the toy industry in having remote control toys be responsive to signals received from the television or the video cassette recorder. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,602 which issued to Rose on Jun. 20, 1989 for Talking Doll Responsive to External Signal, discloses a doll programmed to audibly respond to portions of a narration from a remote signal source that may either come from a television or a cassette tape player. U.S. Pat. No. 5,1919,615 which issued to Aldava et al., on Mar. 2, 1993 for Interrelational Audio Kinetic Entertainment System discloses for movable and audible toys and other animated devices provided with program synchronized audio and control data to interact with the program viewer in relationship to a television program. Similar devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,994 which issued to V. Tong on Jun. 10, 1997 for Interactive Computer Controlled Doll and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,945 which issued to J. Jani on Aug. 12, 1997 for Video and Radio Controlled Moving and Talking Device.
As will be appreciated, none of these prior patents even address the problem faced by applicant let alone offer the solution proposed herein.
Against the foregoing background, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a remote control toy that interacts with and responds to its environment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a remote control toy that promotes interaction between a child, the toy and the child""s environment.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a remote control toy that encourages proper behavioral patterns in children.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a remote control toy which has a plurality of infra-red transmitters to identify various locations in a child""s environment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a remote control toy which acts as a parental aid to identifying meal times and bed times, and in identifying play areas and providing useful reminders.
It is but another object of the present invention to provide such a remote control toy in which each of the various transmitters generates a separate and distinct control signal from all the other transmitters.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide such a remote control toy in which audio effects or messages are played when control signals from the infra-red transmitters are received.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a remote control toy having a time-keeping means so as to play specific messages or sound effects at specific times of the day.
To the accomplishments of the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention, in brief summary, comprises a remote control toy capable of identifying and responding to its environment. The remote control toy includes at least two wireless transmitters for generating unique control signals, wherein each of the transmitters is positioned in a different room or location in a child""s environment. The transmitters each generate a unique infra-red control signal by means of a light-emitting diode. A remote control device in the shape of a doll or other appealing configuration includes a battery-powered photodiode for receiving said control signals. The remote control device identifies the specific wireless transmitter that generated said control signal and generates a message or sound effect in response to the control signal appropriate for the specific location of the transmitter that generated the signal.